The flavor text is meant to hint the Simon & Garfunkel song "I Am a Rock." To avoid having feelings and crying, the narrator of this song has built figurative walls, "a fortress deep and mighty." He also says "I have my books and my poetry to protect me."
The phrases "A FORTRESS DEEP AND MIGHTY" and "MY BOOKS AND MY POETRY" appear as rectangles in the grid (in blue below), forming protective barriers around "islands" of other letters (in red).
The "outside" letters spell, in vertical boustephedron beginning from top right, "A FRESHLY FALLEN SILENT SHROUD OF SNOW," but of course you noticed that right away. The "islands," read straight across, spell "BERMUDA BAHAMA COME ON BLANK," so the answer must be PRETTY MAMA.